Henryk Górecki: Symphony No. 3 'Symphony of Sorrowful Songs' (Dawn Upshaw, David Zinman, 1992)

Górecki's Third Symphony became a surprise global phenomenon through the sheer emotional purity of its slow unfolding. Over three sustained movements, low strings introduce a repeating modal canon that gradually ascends across several octaves, crowned by soprano Dawn Upshaw's luminous laments expressing maternal grief and human resilience.